Once China Exclusive, Dell XPS 14z Now Available in Singapore

When Dell introduced the Dell XPS 15z , we gave it a good whirl and found that it was a thin and robust machine with designer looks that gave other brands a run for their money. Then in October, we came across news that the 15z's younger sibling, the Dell XPS 14z would only be sold exclusively in the China market. This decision puzzled us slightly, but we though Dell could be trying out a new strategy in one of the biggest markets in the world.

For consumers who have put off getting a Dell XPS 15z because its screen was too big for your tastes, you can now set your sights on the Dell XPS 14z, which would now be available to the rest of the world. We attended the launch party of this new machine at Chef Daniel's Kitchen located at Iluma, initially expecting Dell to reveal their iteration of the Ultrabook, but what we got in return was a bittersweet surprise.

The Dell XPS 14z is so small and slim it could almost pass for an Ultrabook. In fact one of its biggest selling points was that it has a 13-inch form factor, while packing at 14-inch (1366 x 768 pixels) screen. It also manages to fit a slot-loading optical drive into its small form factor. But one of our biggest issues with it is that it doesn't include a mid-tier discrete graphic card.

Instead, consumers will have to settle for a low-tier graphics unit, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520M which from our testing, isn't much better than integrated graphics on the CPU. However, everything else from the amount of RAM, HDD type and capacity could be changed to your tastes. The Dell XPS 14z is now up for sale on Dell's retail website, as well as the more conventional distribution channels. Prices for the XPS 14z start at S$1449 for the Core i5 variant, while the Core i7 version goes for S$1749.